Prof Richard A Blythe

Professor of Complex SystemsSchool of Physics and AstronomyUniversity of Edinburgh
Non-equilibrium statistical physicsCultural and biological evolutionary dynamics

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About my research

Statistical physics is the study of how structures and patterns emerge in complex systems from the interactions between their component parts.

Traditionally, statistical physics applies to solids, liquids and gases and predicts material properties like melting temperatures. A major research challenge is to make similar predictions for systems for out of equilibrium systems, for example, when heat flows through a room.

The mathematical techniques for solving these problems apply to complex interacting systems in general. Hence statistical physicists work in a huge variety of areas. A lot of my own work relates to the non-equilibrium evolutionary dynamics of biological populations and cultural behaviour, particularly language.

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You can read more about my publications by clicking one of the buttons above to choose a topic. You can then use the buttons below to move between them. More traditional publication lists are also available.

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